Was Wolfowitz Caught In A Trap?

Want to catch a rat in a trap? Some use cheese. Want to catch a human in a trap? How about using sex and money?

At the center of the World Bank's President Paul Wolfowitz scandal is his arrangement of a non-appropriate huge pay increase and better job postion for his friend and presumed lover World Bank employee Shaha Ali Raza. But slightly off-center to this World Bank scandal is Mr. Wolfowitz's part in making a case for the Iraq War which has been shown to be based on false/fabricated assumptions. Mr. Wolfowitz has a lot of enemies. His enemies are particularly energised about his ability to avoid accountability for Iraq and also for his high-handed behavior at World Bank.

So, how about a trap for Wolfy? Enter Ad Melkert who is the head of the ethics board at World Bank. Mr. Wolfowitz was directed by the ethics board to distance himself from Shaha Ali Raza as per World Bank regulations. Wolfowitz at first wanted a recusal from this duty because of his personal relationship with Ali Raz. But Ad Melkert and the board insisted that Wolfowitz handle the chore. And so the the trap was set .

Had Wolfowitz made a proper and non-controversial reassignment for Ali Raza then nothing would have happened. But Wolfowitz took the bait and planned to to take advantage of his postion and have it both ways. First, he would please his lover with a better job and more tax-free pay ( could there have been a side deal for Ali Raza to kick some money back?). Secondly, if he was criticised he could blame the ethics board for making him do it. But the ethics board only instructed Wolfowitz to distance the Office of World Bank president from a World Bank employee. The ethics board didn't give Wolfowitz a pass for corruption.

Heraclitus said in 500 B.C., " Our fate is not in the stars, it is in our hands".